Member of Parliament for North Machangolhi constituency, Ibrahim Mohamed, has called on the leadership and members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to return to the principles on which the party was founded.

In a post on X marking the MDP's 21st anniversary, MP Ibrahim, who was among those who travelled to Sri Lanka to register the party, said the party's current direction had significantly diverged from its original vision.

The MDP was established in Sri Lanka in 2005, as the political environment in the Maldives at the time did not allow for open political activity. One of the leading figures behind the initiative was the late Mohamed Latheef, popularly known as Gogo Latheef, who played a prominent role in the country's democratic reform movement.

Recalling the party's formation, MP Ibrahim said the MDP leadership had departed considerably from the objectives for which the party was established and urged it to correct its course.

"As someone who travelled to Sri Lanka with the late Gogo Latheef to register the MDP, my advice is that the party leadership should recognise that it has strayed significantly from its founding objectives and take steps to rectify this," MP Ibrahim said.

Gogo Latheef played a leading role in drafting the MDP's first manifesto and the Colombo Declaration during the party's formation. He later left the party, stating that it had moved away from its founding principles.

MP Ibrahim also noted that only a few of those who played leading roles in establishing the MDP remain in the party today, following what he described as fundamental changes to its principles and direction.